A Simple Dinner
by Fenris242
Summary: There's a black out at PPTH. Power won't be back until Monday. It's Friday. A lot could happen in three days.
1. The Question

**A/N: This idea has been floating around in my head for a couple of days. I just wanted to finish _Stunned_ before I started something new. I want to thank everyone who has left such wonderful feedback for that fic. I am definitely planning a sequel, just not quite sure how I'm going to play it out.**

**Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this fic. I'll get the next chapter out as soon as I can.**

**-Fen**

* * *

The group of friends were gathered around the corner table of the restaurant. They were oblivious to anything and everything that was going on around them. Occasionally everyone would look towards the small group as they were beginning to get louder and louder in their fits of laughter. It had been a year or so since they had all been together in a social setting. Some had moved and started careers in other places, and some had stayed. Some had gotten married and were planning families, and some were happy with their rodent company. 

Conversation had died down a bit as they slowed down on telling their stories. It was the dark woman who asked the question that no one had expected. This was the first time she had been with the whole group, having just married into it three months earlier. She didn't know the protocol on starting conversation, but was very curious as to the answer, "Eric has told me so much about you." She said, looking towards the tall, slender man seated on the aisle. "He really enjoyed his fellowship under you." She continued, but on that note, everyone let out a little chuckle. "I was just wondering how the two of you hooked up." She said, pointing between the man seated on the aisle and the woman seated next to him.

The two exchanged looks, and smiled. It had been so long since anyone had asked that question. Pretty much everyone they knew had already known how it had happened. He wasn't sure if he should be the one telling the story, or is she should. If he did, it would be very short, exclude most of the details, and would probably make the young woman wish she never asked the question. Yes, it would be better if he let her answer.

She looked at the man seated next to her, and took his silent queue that she should tell the story. "It was a couple years ago. We were all at the hospital late. We had just diagnosed our patient, and were waiting to make sure that the meds we had administered were going to work. It was pretty late. Probably around ten or eleven. We, " she motioned between herself and her co-workers, "were with the patient. Just to make sure everything was going to work, and if it didn't, that we would be right there. That's exactly when the power went out." She paused for a moment. "The emergency generators kicked on, but it was still a shock that the power had gone out.

"We were into the black out about half an hour when…..

**A Couple Years Ago**

"If your patient is stable, we need to pull any unnecessary electricity from this room." Dr. Cuddy said, walking in on her three employees. "I have patients in surgery and ICU that need to get the most out of the machines that they are on." The three looked at her, not knowing what to say. She was going to choose which patients would receive treatment and which wouldn't. Surely the black out couldn't be as bad as they had expected. Knowing what they were thinking, she continued, "I just got off the phone with the electric company. It seems that their employees are striking because they're working to many weekend hours and not getting paid for it. And since it is Friday, we might not have power until Monday. At the earliest. So yes, I am picking and choosing which patients truly need the electricity that we don't have much of. The generators were only meant to run the entire hospital for 36 hours."

"So why can't be just put more gas in them when they're low?" Foreman asked.

"Simple. All the doors are run on electricity. So we can't leave. The generators are locked up down in the basement and we can't get into that room."

"What about the emergency pulls on the doors? Aren't they designed so that if the power goes out, people can still get out of the building?" Cameron asked.

"They're supposed to be, but when security was beefed up after House getting shot, that feature was deactivated because some asshole thought just a bit too much." Cuddy replied. "So, is he stable?"

"You're saying we're not allowed to leave?" Chase asked, taking in the conversation so far.

"By all means, you are allowed to leave." She said. "I just don't know how you're going to."


	2. House's Fort

**A/N: I'm happy that everyone seemed to enjoy the first chapter. Hopefully you enjoy this one just as much. As always, let me know what you guys think, and if you have any suggestions.**

**-Fen**

* * *

"This is bull." Chase said, after hearing the news that they weren't allowed to leave PPTH. 

"The patient seems to be responding to the medicine. We should be able to turn off most of the machines in about half an hour." Foreman responded to Cuddy's original question.

"I would appreciate it." She replied before leaving the room.

"I can't believe that we can't even leave." Chase said as soon as she was out the door.

"Anyone hungry?" Cameron asked. "They're probably gonna run out of food real quick in the caf." She explained herself.

* * *

The three had made their way down to the cafeteria to find that Cameron was very right. Most of the food was gone. "Why is it that when any form of crisis occurs, people grab milk and bread before all else?" Foreman asked, finding no bread to make a sandwich with. 

"Beats me." Cameron said.

"Who does?" A voice said, approaching her from the side. "Damn, no more reubens." He continued. Cameron just rolled her eyes, knowing he had already moved on and didn't expect an answer to his question.

"You're still here?" Foreman asked.

"Don't you mean – We're stuck with you all weekend?" Chase chimed in, but made sure it was only a whisper that Foreman could here.

House completely ignored his employees question, babbled something about the atrocity of no reuben sandwiches, and left the cafeteria.

"Hopefully he'll stay locked up somewhere all weekend." Foreman said.

* * *

Cameron walked down the hall towards the conference room with Foreman and Chase walking just behind her. The threesome entered the conference room and sat their food down on the table. Cameron set a couple candles on the table that Cuddy had security handing out, and quickly lit them. 

"Nothing like a candlelit dinner." Foreman said. The three enjoyed their meal in comfortable silence.

"You stockin' up?" Chase finally asked, looking at Cameron's take out plate. She had enough food on it to serve the three of them for the whole weekend.

"I thought I might grab some extra just in case." She replied.

"In case what?" Foreman began, "World War III breaks out."

"In case everyone goes crazy and there's no food left." She replied. Packing up the container and putting it in the frig.

"You know that's not working, right?" Foreman asked.

"Yeah, but it's insulated, so it should at least keep anything from going bad for a little while." Cameron replied.

"I'm gonna go and scope out a good room for tonight." Chase said. Foreman nodded to go with.

"I think I'm just gonna stay here." Cameron said.

"Where?" Chase said, looking around the room. "The chairs aren't even uncomfortable to sit in, let alone sleep in. Plus there's no couch." He finished.

"I'll find something." She replied.

"If I find something that we could move in here easily, I'll bring it back." Foreman replied, knowing that she was comfortable in the conference room and probably wouldn't get much sleep anywhere else.

* * *

An hour had gone by and no sign of Foreman or Chase. Cameron had gone out and found some blankets. She made herself a little bed on the floor. She figured she might as well try and get some sleep. She wasn't even sure if she would be able to fall asleep. 

It didn't take long for her to fall asleep, but she didn't sleep long. Maybe half an hour had gone by, when she woke up to a very strange noise. A loud noise. Then a thud. Another loud noise. And another thud. With the power being out, she wasn't able to make out what was going on, but the noise was coming from House's office. She got up and lit a new candle; the ones from dinner having gone out before she fell asleep. She walked over to the door into House's office, and pushed on the door to open it. When it didn't open right away, she pushed harder. Still nothing. That's when she actually looked at the door. Not recognizing what was wrong, she held the candle a little lower to see what the obstruction was.

She chuckled. House had pushed his desk up against the door. No one would be getting in that way. She walked out into the hall, and tried the other office door; but had the same result. He had pushed some sort of cabinet up against this door. She rolled her eyes, and let the smile creep across her face once more. She went back into the conference room, and searched around for her bag. After finding it, she shuffled through its contents and pulled out her cell phone. She flipped it open and pressed the speed dial.

"Yeah?" The voice on the other end sounded very unhappy with the intrusion.

"Nice fort." She said, allowing a brief pause before continuing, "Any reason why you've barricaded yourself in your office?" Cameron asked.

"Could it possibly have been to escape the demons that I affectionately call my employees? Or could it be the furies that call themselves nurses? Or maybe I'm-"

"A simple 'I wanted to be left alone' would have worked just fine." Cameron interrupted her boss.

"I thought that was apparent when I shoved furniture up against the doors. Was I not clear? How else should I have possibly phrased that?" He retorted, anger that she had interrupted him. Not that he had been doing anything in particular, but he thought he had made it obvious that he didn't want to be bothered.

"I was just surprised. I thought you might have at least left a trap door for Wilson to get in." She replied.

"How do you know that I haven't?" He paused, but didn't wait for a response. "Besides, Wilson left three hours ago. _Before_ the blackout."

"Well, if you need anything, I'm staying in the conference room."

"Where?" He asked, knowing nothing in that room was comfortable enough to sleep on.

"I made a bed on the floor. I'll be fine. I even have some food if you need." She said. "Just call." She said, snapping her phone shut.

Cameron decided to pass some time by pulling out her laptop. She knew she wouldn't have too long, since the battery didn't have a full charge, but it was something to do.

A little while later, she was powering the laptop down, hoping to get at least one more session out of the remaining battery power, when she looked into House's office. He had a single candle lit. She stood up to try and see him. Without his desk in its normal position, she didn't know where he would be. She saw him sitting on the floor with his back against the far wall; his earphones in his ears. His head was moving slowly up and down, obviously caught up in the song. His lips were moving to the words of the song. She saw him pick up a cup and put it to his mouth. Then pull it away quickly, and toss it in the trash.

Cameron walked over to the frig and pulled out the plate she had put in there earlier. She also grabbed two of the water bottles from the frig and a couple candles from the stash on the table. She set everything down on the ground by her laptop, and pulled out her cell phone again. Hitting redial she waited for him to answer. After a couple rings, it went to voicemail. She looked back into his office. "Of course. He can't hear the damn thing." She said before banging on the glass door to get his attention. Then pointed to her phone and then at him. She hit redial again, and waited for him to answer, this time watching him.

He cast her a defiant glance and a smirk as he looked at his phone, seeing the light going off meaning it was ringing. He looked away from her. Just before her hand came down on the door, he picked up the phone and pulled the earphones out. "Had ya goin', didn't I?" He said, looking at her.

She shook her head and rolled her eyes at the same time. "Where's the secret passage?" She asked.

"Don't know what you're talking about." He replied.

"I have food."

He thought about it for a second, then replied, "Not hungry."

She sighed. "I have water." Holding up a water bottle.

"Not thirsty. Just finished my drink."

He was being difficult, but not an ass. This made Cameron think that he wanted her to come in, just needed the right reason. She thought for a moment and then could have sworn that a little light bulb actually appeared above her head. She turned from the door, and reappeared moments later. "I have games." She said holding up her laptop.

"The glass panel on the floor next to the door is actually a swinging window. You should be able to fit through. Pass the laptop through first." He replied hanging up the phone.


	3. Inside House's Fort

**A/N: Thank you to everyone for your wonderful feedback! I hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as you've enjoyed the last two. I promise things will get more interesting…especially with what House realizes he did at the end of this chapter. Again, let me know what you think with your reviews.**

**-Fen**

"Wait. Hold up. You made her hand the laptop in first?" The woman sitting across from House asked.

"Yeah." He said matter-of-factly. His gaze turned to Foreman. "Have you been telling your wife lies? Does she think I'm not the evil, sardonic, son-of-a-bitch that I am? Shame on you." He said, shaking a finger at Foreman. "Naughty, naughty." He said, putting a smile on Foreman's face.

Foreman rolled his eyes and looked at his wife, "Everything that I've told you about him, whether you believe it or not, is true." He said. "I know it's hard to believe that one person could be such an incredible ass, but House is House, and will always be that way." He finished.

"Now that's cleared, please continue." House said, nudging Cameron in the side.

"Hey, no abuse please. I'm capable of hearing the words coming out of your mouth without the poking." She commented, trying to come off as angry, but everyone knew she was only kidding. "Anyway, like I said, he made me send the laptop in first. Once he had the laptop in his hands, he dropped the window. Luckily I had my knees in first and the blow just bruised my knee cap.

"After I was in the room, I started to look around...

**Back to Blackout at PPTH**

"Wow. Where did you get all this stuff?" She asked looking around. There were a couple of blankets and a pillow on the couch. A stack of candles and three flashlights were on the floor next to the couch. There were a couple bottles of water by his iPod, and a full bottle of Vicodin next to the water bottles.

"If I told you, I might have to kill you." He paused for dramatics. "Not that I'm against killing you, just I may need you later." He saw her cast him an odd look while he opened up the laptop. "Somebody's gotta go on food runs." He replied to her silent question.

A little while later, after House had killed the battery to the laptop and quickly became bored out of his mind, Cameron's phone began to ring. She grabbed the phone sitting next to her, and opened it up, "Eric, hold on for a second." She said into the phone. "W-A-R, war." She said, flipping cards over as she spelled out the word. She was just about to start flipping more cards when House started picking all the cards up. "What are you doing? We both threw kings. We have to do it again." She said, getting agitated that he was cheating.

"No. I threw the king of spades, and you threw the king of hearts." He said, as if that made a difference.

"What the hell does that mean?" She asked.

"The queen of hearts is such a manipulative bitch that she caused her husband to be the _only_ suicide king." He could tell she still wasn't following. "He took his own life cause he's weak which means all other kings beat him." He finished.

"I can't believe you've actually come up with rules to cheat with." She put her phone to her ear again. "Eric, what happens when you put a king on a king in war?"

"You spell out war again." He replied, not really understanding why he was being asked this.

"Thank you. One more second." She pulled the phone away from her ear. "Foreman's never heard of that stupid rule."

"And that's supposed to mean something." He said, continuing to pick up the cards.

"You're impossible." She turned her attention back to the phone. "Did you need something?"

"Just wanted to make sure you were all right? I hadn't seen you." He said, in his older brother tone.

"I'm fine. Just playing cards with a cheating House." She replied.

"Tell me something new." He said. "Just don't play strip anything." He warned.

"Please. Like I'd be that stupid." She replied.

"Night, Allison."

"Night Eric." She said into her phone.

"So what aren't you too stupid for?" House asked, curious as to what the conversation was about.

"He just warned me not to play strip anything."

A smile came across House's face. "That had been a fun game. That nurse from NICU got a kick out of Foreman's flowered boxers."

Cameron's head shot up at this information. She made a mental note to ask Foreman what they had been playing and why he owned flowered boxers. "What were you playing?" She asked, trying to hide her shock.

"Go fish." He replied. Not offering any further information.

Cameron let out a yawn, then looked at her watch. It was 3am. "I'm gonna hit the hay." She said, crawling over towards the 'secret passage.'

House watched her. She was just about to open the window, "Take the couch." He said.

She turned around to look at him. He just motioned toward the couch. "We could share?" She said, not wanting to make him sleep on the floor with his leg. She quickly added, "Head to feet."

"Yeah. It's been my dream to wake up to your smelly feet. I can't believe you're gonna help make it come true." He put as much sarcasm into the sentence as he could.

"I'm serious." She said.

"Me too." He replied.

"Fine, I'll keep my feet curled up. I don't want you to sleep on the floor. It won't help your leg."

He was going to argue that moving wasn't good for his leg, but decided not to fight anymore. He _was_ getting tired. "Fine." He walked over to the cabinet that was pushed up against the door out into the hallway and opened it. "Here." He said, tossing something at her.

She looked down at her hands. He'd tossed her an old tee shirt and mesh shorts. "And you keep a change of clothes in your office because?" She asked.

"I always keep a couple changes of clothes in here just in case I need them." He said, turning his back to her. "I won't peek." He said, pulling his own shirt off in order to change. Cameron stood there for a moment, not moving. When he didn't hear any noise coming from her direction, he turned his head slightly, "Obviously you do."

This snapped her out of her daze. She quickly turned and began to put on the clothes that House had given her.

Once they were both changed, they moved to the couch. House had only grabbed one pillow, not expecting to have company. He tried to give it to Cameron, but she refused. Saying he was being nice enough by sharing the couch, she didn't want him to suffer serious injury by giving up the pillow too. It didn't take long for the two of them to fall asleep.

* * *

House woke up the next morning. He had drawn the blinds the night before so he didn't wake up at the crack of dawn with the sun shining in the window. He shifted to get in a better position for his leg, but hit something. He remembered that he had been sharing the couch with Cameron, but her body didn't feel opposite his, like it should be if they had slept foot to head. He opened his eyes to find her head resting on his chest. He moved just slightly to see exactly where he was.

He wasn't at the same end of the couch that he had started on. "Dammit." He cursed softly, realizing that he was the one that had moved to be next to her and not the other way around.


	4. Breakfast with Foreman & Chase

**A/N: Again..thank you all so much for the wonderful feedback. I love it! Hope everyone enjoys this chapter. I'm trying to get writing dialogue for House down, but I don't think I'm quite there. Please let me know what you guys think on that topic. Thanks in advance for the feedback…I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I have it developed in my head – which means, hopefully tomorrow night.**

**--Fen **

* * *

He lay there, next to a sleeping Cameron, wondering how he had been able to spin himself on the couch without even waking up. His leg didn't even hurt. Well, not any more than it normally did. He didn't have much time to ponder though, because he felt Cameron beginning to wake up. Quickly, he snuggled back into his position behind her, and closed his eyes, wiping the grin off his face just before she opened her eyes.

* * *

Cameron's eyes fluttered open. She looked around trying to figure out where she was. She had momentarily forgotten about the black out. That's when she felt the body next to her. She could feel the person's chest rise and fall. "Wait." She thought to herself. "I shouldn't be able to feel his chest." She twisted her head so that she could see behind her. Her eyes widened when she realized that House was right behind her. She looked around one more time, hoping that she hadn't unconsciously turned in the middle of the night to be closer to him. "No." Again, she said to herself. Which left only one reason why House would be behind her. She tried to slip off the couch but was stopped when House's arm, which had been draped over her midsection, tightened and pulled her closer.

She let out a soft sigh, not knowing how she was going to get away without waking him. Her stomach growled. "Shh." She whispered, looking down at her stomach. Again she tried to pull away from House and slide off the couch. Again, House tightened his grip, a small grin coming across his face; that disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. She tried to slide down the couch, out of his grasp. All that got her was House's hand on her breast instead of around her waist.

She grabbed his wrist with her index finger and thumb. She gave it a squeeze to try and get him to move his hand. "Oww!" He said, pulling his arm away and rubbing his wrist as she got off the couch.

She stood looking down at him. Had he been awake the whole time, or had she really hurt him? "Sorry." She offered.

He rolled his eyes. "What's for breakfast?" He asked with a smile on his face.

She just looked at him for a second, a look of frustration on her face. "How long were you awake?"

"I asked first." He replied, avoiding her question in the typical House fashion of turning the questioning around.

"How long were you awake?" She repeated.

"Wow, that's a horrible echo." He said, sitting up. He grabbed the bottle of Vicodin and swallowed two of the oval pills. "So, am I buying or you?"

It was her turn to roll her eyes, knowing he wouldn't answer the question. Which meant he was guilty. Cameron moved to the door into the conference room. After a couple moments of struggling, she had succeeded in moving the desk enough to exit through the door. "I'm buying my own breakfast. I don't know who's buying yours." She said, walking out of the office.

House chuckled before grabbing his cane and following her.

* * *

Cameron had obviously made it to the cafeteria before House had. Foreman and Chase were already seated at a table eating when she walked in…wearing clothes that she hadn't been wearing the last time they saw her.

She grabbed a box of cereal and quickly grabbed a milk out of the frig. After paying, she found a seat next to Foreman and Chase. "Didn't know you liked ACDC?" Foreman said, motioning towards her shirt.

She looked down, not even knowing what her shirt said. She hadn't looked at it the night before when House had tossed it at her. "It's not mine." It had come out of her mouth before she realized what the repercussions of such a statement might be.

Chase and Foreman looked at each other, then back at Cameron. "What do you mean it's not yours?" It was Chase's turn to ask a question.

"I borrowed it cause I didn't have a change of clothes." She replied, not really wanting to say who the real owner was.

As if it were planned, House strode up next to the table, looked down at Cameron and said, "Don't even think about getting that shirt dirty. It might be old, but it's still one of my favorites." Then limped away as quickly as he had shown up, a smirk on his face. He knew her face was a lovely shade of red but didn't dare to turn around to see it for himself. "Wow, only up ten minutes and already getting the jabs in. I think that's a record." He said to himself.

Meanwhile, Chase and Foreman's jaws were attached to the table as they looked at Cameron. "Any particular reason why you would be wearing House's shirt?" Foreman asked. Before he let her give an answer, he asked, "You didn't play Go Fish with him did you?"

Chase looked at Foreman, then quickly back at Cameron. "Please tell us you didn't play any games with him that involved the removal of clothing."

"I didn't, but since we're on the subject.' She turned to Foreman. "Flowered boxers?"

Foreman went pale. "He told you about that? He said he wouldn't tell." He said.

"And you trusted him? I'd be surprised if the whole hospital didn't know." Foreman started to look around at the people around him to see if they were staring at him and pointing. "I'm sure he didn't tell the _entire_ hospital. Hell, he scares most people off before he gets more than two words in." Cameron tried to be comforting.

"You still haven't answered why you're wearing House's shirt." Chase said, really wanting to know the reason.

Again, as if it were planned, House walked up to the table. He had gotten himself breakfast – two Krispy Kreme glazed donuts – and couldn't resist another chance to embarrass someone. "Isn't it obvious that we had hot, naked, monkey sex all night and that I more than likely ruined all her other clothes when I was ripping them from her body?" And as before, he walked away before a word could be directed at him.

Cameron's face was crimson. How could he do that and just walk away?

* * *

House was sitting in his office on the couch when he heard on knock on the hallway entrance door. He stood, and limped over to the door, poking his head around the side to see who was there.

"What the hell are you doing?" Cuddy yelled, motioning toward the cabinet and the lack of a way to get into his office.

"Sorry, didn't quite get that. Can you repeat?" He said, putting a hand up to his ear.

"I said, 'what the hell are you doing?'" She yelled again.

"Still not quite getting all of that. One more time."

Again, Cuddy yelled, "What the HELL are you doing?!"

House shook his head, trying to prevent a smile from forming on his face. He looked at her. "I'm gonna need you to repeat that again." He said back.

She sighed, bowed her head and shook it. "Never mind." She said raising her head again to look at him before walking away.

House smiled and chuckled, then returned to the couch. He sat down just as he heard the glass panel next to the other door swing open. He had pushed the desk back up against the conference room door. Before Cameron got the chance to emerge from the floor, House asked, "So, how was breakfast? Mine was great." A smirk was on his face, until he looked up and saw Cameron. Then it quickly faded as his jaw decided not to stay attached to his face and hit the floor.

"I didn't get your shirt dirty." She said, tossing the shirt onto the couch next to House. She stood there in front of him, in his office, without _any_ shirt on. "I wanted to return it before I ruin it." She grabbed her own shirt that was neatly folded on the floor next to the couch and pulled it over her head.

She made for the swinging glass panel. She was on the floor and crawling through it when she felt something hit her foot. She turned her head to look around her body. It was House's cane. He was standing there. Behind her. She looked up into his eyes. He wasn't stunned and surprised. She thought he almost looked angry. The shirt that she had discarded on the couch was now in his hand. She saw the corner of his mouth quirk upward just before he said, "I don't want it know. You put your cooties all over it." And tossed the shirt at her. She stayed there. Not knowing how to react. "See ya when it gets dark." He said, moving over to where the iPod was and put the headphones on his ears.

He knew she probably wanted to hang out with Foreman and Chase. Probably help with some patients. He also knew that she'd be back that night. He had all day to plan for that evening. She thought she could shock him. She had no idea what he was capable of.


	5. Cameron Gets the Third Degree

**A/N: I know this chapter is short. I'm writing it during my lunch break, so it won't be real long. Sorry. Also, a quick question. I don't know the age groups of the people reading. I'm contemplating what will happen in the next chapter (whether or not to get graphic). Please let me know (you can send an email if you'd like to be more private than a review) if you're not able to read M rated material and I'll make sure to keep things to a minimum. If I don't get any responses, I'll write the next chapter and change to rating.**

**-Fen**

* * *

House ventured out of his office a couple of times that day. He was gathering supplies. His plan was to shock Cameron as she had shocked him earlier that morning. He just needed a couple things in order to do it. He was trying his best not to be seen by the nurses or other doctors still locked in the hospital. He hadn't seen her sneak up behind him. His hand had just descended upon the next item he was going to drop into his bag. "What do you think you're doing?"

He froze. "Cuddy." He cursed to himself. "Just grabbing a few things to spruce up my office." He said, quickly putting the item in his bag and turned around to face her.

"Well, maybe you could help the _doctors_ here, and see some patients." She said.

"Nah. Too busy planning a night of evil mischief." He replied.

"It wasn't a question." She pushed.

"I know. I do actually plan to cause mischief tonight." He walked away from her and headed back towards his office.

"Move the damn barricades, so if I need you, I can at least get into your office." She yelled after him. She was reaching her limit. Luckily all the patients were staying stable, but she couldn't predict the future.

"Can't you see I'm a cripple. How am I supposed to move a huge cabinet?" He paused. She began to ask him who had moved the cabinet in the first place but he cut her off, "Besides, if you need me that bad, I'd be forced to press sexual harassment charges if you did get in." He disappeared into the conference room, and made his way into his office.

* * *

"So you didn't do anything with him. I mean-" Foreman was cut off by Cameron.

"No. He let me borrow a change of clothes so that I didn't have to sleep in my work clothes."

"But you slept in his office?" Chase asked. The two had been berrating Cameron with questions about the previous night.

"I already told you guys. He let me sleep on the couch." She hadn't told them that he had slept on the couch as well. She didn't want them to know that because she knew what questions would come after that, and knew she wouldn't be able to lie.

"Where'd House sleep?" Foreman asked. This was the first time he had asked this question.

What could she say? They'd know she was lieing if she said that he had slept on the floor. House would never give up his couch to anyone let alone one of his ducklings to sleep on the floor. She caved. "He slept on the other end of the couch." It was a whisper. She really didn't want to tell them that.

"So you did sleep with him." Chase said.

"And sleeping is all that happened. We slept foot to head. There was nothing sexual about it."

"Yeah, right. And House's is the nicest and most polite guy in the world." Chase replied.

* * *

"I am the nicest and most polite guy in the world." House said, having just returned from the bathroom of the restaurant to hear Cameron utter the words that Chase had said a couple years prior.

"Yeah, and I'm a millionaire." Foreman added.

House glared at him for a moment before letting a smile fall on his face. Ever since all of his ducklings had left PPTH, he found it easier to relax around them. He actually enjoyed their company most of the time. He still made his witty retorts to almost everything they said, but now he smiled, letting them know if wasn't because he was just pissed off or testing them. He looked forward to the nights that he knew they'd all be back in town. It didn't happen often, and that's why they always went out to eat and drink, and most of the time ended up back at either House's place or Wilson's place.

House settled back into his spot next to Cameron. "Please continue." He said.

* * *

"Okay, can we finally talk about something different." Cameron asked her two male companions.

"Just as long as you promise that nothing naked happened." Foreman said.

Her mind drifted to earlier that morning, after breakfast. Surely they didn't mean then. "We were clothed the whole night. There was no nakedness." She said, making sure that she only covered the night, not the morning. Therefore she wasn't really lieing to them.


	6. House Turns His Brain Off

**A/N: As promised, the rating has changed to M. Thank you everyone for the wonderful feedback. I love it! So, here's the next chapter. I'm going to try and get another chapter out tonight yet. I have the idea for it in my head. It's just a matter of getting it down through my fingers and onto the screen. Hope you all enjoy. – Side Note: For those of you that have read my fic _Stunned_, I am currently devising a way to start up a sequel. I just don't have all the details ironed out.**

**-Fen**

* * *

House had gathered everything that he needed except for one item. It was the reason he was ripping his office apart. He had already searched the entire conference room for the little white bottle. He was currently rifling through all the drawers of his desk. Still nothing. The cabinet was next. He opened the doors and started moving everything. He was throwing random objects over his shoulder onto the floor behind him. Then finally, a small wooden box in the very back of the cabinet. He hid it behind a larger box. Not wanting anyone to find it. He pulled the box free and quickly flipped the latch with his thumb. "My precious." He whispered, quickly looking around the room to see if anyone could see him. He let a small chuckle escape his lips, then closed the box and put it in his bag.

He had his plan laid out. He knew exactly where to go, at what times and how quickly he had to leave before getting caught. It would definitely be a night for mischief. "In more ways than one." He said aloud.

"What's in more ways than one?" Cameron asked. She had come into the office and was standing behind House. He didn't even hear her come in.

He pulled something from his pocket. "There's more ways than one to eat it." He said, holding up a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. "What are you doing back so soon?" He hadn't expected her to show up until it was later. Much later. He thought she would have found a patient to worry over by now.

"Well, if you have to know. You're little shenanigans this morning gave Chase and Foreman the idea that we had sex last night. Thanks." She said.

"Anytime. I'm always up for hot, naked, monkey sex." He replied.

Cameron rolled her eyes. "You know, for once you could act like a civilized person." She flopped down on the couch. "What time is it anyway? I left my watch in here."

House looked outside. It was already starting to get dark. After glancing at the clock, "It's just after six o'clock." He replied, hiding the bag of mischief so Cameron wouldn't find it. Yet.

Cameron didn't reply. House looked at her. She looked bored out of her mind. Their patient was recovering very well, and would be able to leave as soon as they could. House almost wished that they hadn't diagnosed him correctly this time. At least it would have been something to do while they were all stuck in the hospital.

He limped over to the couch and fell into the couch next to her. She hadn't been paying attention and his action had caught her off guard. His weight had caused her to lose her balance, and she fell into him as he landed on the couch. She knew she was too close for comfort.

* * *

He thought she saw him coming. He wouldn't have fallen onto the couch as hard as he did if he knew she weren't paying attention…..wait, no he would've done it anyway. He was surprised when she fell into him. He felt his own breath catch in his throat. She was _way too_ close. He knew she wasn't supposed to affect him this way, but it was impossible not to allow it. 

He watched as she raised her gaze to look into his eyes. He didn't allow his brain to react. He just turned it off.

In one swift movement, he was on top of her. He had effectively pinned her to the couch. He let his body weight fall on hers, but made sure not to crush her. He pushed his lips against hers hard. Not even giving her a choice but deepened the kiss before she had a chance to react. One hand snaked under her body while the other supported as much of his weight as he could.

The hand he had snaked around her, moved to the front of her body, making quick work of the mesh shorts she had been wearing. _His_ mesh shorts.

She pulled at the waist of his jeans. Her fingers went to work on getting his belt undone and undoing the zipper. It wasn't long until the two of them were only clad in shirts. House pulled back and pulled his own shirt over his head, while Cameron did the same. Before the shirts had a chance to hit the floor their mouths were clashed back together. Cameron pulled House's boxer briefs down and he pushed them off the rest of the way.

Keeping most of his weight on his right arm, his left hand traveled down to find her hot core. He drug one finger over her opening, teasing her with a quick flick to her clit. He heard her moan in to his mouth. He paused, and backed off.

All Cameron could think was that he had come to his senses, and was going to call the whole thing off. He went for his jeans. "Dammit." She mentally cursed. How could he do that? He had gotten her all hot and bothered, and was now going to leave her wanting more. She tried to sit up and pull him back down to her. She wasn't going to let him get off that easy, but he pushed her back down on the couch. She watched as he dug into his jeans, and retrieved something, then moved back on top of her.

She stared at him not understanding. He held a small square object in front of her. "You did want me to use one of these didn't you."

"A condom. He was getting a condom." She said to herself, relief washing over her.

He had it slipped on and was in her before she could even finish a thought.

In the distance, House was able to hear someone knocking on the door to his office. He glanced up and knew the cabinet would hide them. He had the blinds drawn as well. No one could see them from any angle. He had established a rhythm that Cameron had matched. He could feel her tightening inside with every thrust he pushed in. He quickly grabbed her mouth with his own to prevent her moaning _his_ name from being heard by whoever was on the outside of his office.

As she tightened around him, and wrapped her legs around his waist, he felt himself starting to go over the edge. He grabbed her hips with both of his hands, and released himself while pushing as hard and as deep as he could go.

His head dropped back and his eyes rolled up into his head. He pulled his head back to look at Cameron. The stars that were invading his vision made it very hard for him to focus.

With a shake of his head, he was finally able to focus. That was when his brain turned back on. All of a sudden every flashed into his mind. What had just happened, and more importantly, who it had happened with. He couldn't pull away. He had to keep himself under control. If he pulled away…he'd lose her.


	7. That Smell

A/N: As promised, here is another chapter for you guys. Just bear with me. I know how I'm ending this already. Hope you guys enjoy. There'll be at least a couple more chapters to come.

**-Fen**

* * *

House pushed himself back to allow Cameron to get her bearings a little. He grabbed his boxer briefs and his ACDC shirt. He handed the shirt to Cameron as he pulled the boxer briefs on while sitting on the couch.

They sat like that for a while. Silent. Somewhat uncomfortable silence. "So," He started, but for once, didn't know where to take it from there.

"Yeah." She replied.

"I have a bag over there. I was planning on getting a little mischievous tonight. Wanna join me?" He asked. It was the best he could do.

She knew he'd never admit to any feelings. Even if he was truly feeling them with all his being. He'd still never admit to it. At least not to her. She turned to look at him. Mischievous? "What were you planning?" She asked, taking the queue to change the uncomfortable silence into plotting against co-workers.

"Take a look in the bag." He pointed across the room. He watched as she got up to retrieve the bag. Just as she started for the bag, he grabbed the Vicodin bottle and popped three pills.

She was sitting down next to him again, looking in the bag. "These are just random things. Albeit very odd things, but still random." House put a hand into the bag and pulled out a piece of paper, showing it to her. "You actually have a plan? How sick are you?"

"More like, how bored?" He said. "You in?"

That crooked smile was back on his face. How could she resist?

* * *

It was later. Much later. Pretty much everyone was asleep. Chase and Foreman were sharing an empty room, having claimed it before anyone else had a chance to. Cuddy took a room down the hall from Chase and Foreman.

House and Cameron looked at the paper one last time, then separated the items in the bag into two piles. House took one pile and Cameron took the other. "Ready?" He asked, extending his arm out to her.

"As I'll ever be." She said, grabbing his arm. "Chase and Foreman are all yours. I'm not getting anywhere close to that box."

House smiled. "Fine, Cuddy is all yours. You remember everything?"

"You made me read that damn paper seventy-six times. If I don't have it down by now, I don't think I ever will."

"Good luck." He said as they made their way into the hall. House turned to the right and Cameron to the left.

* * *

Cameron slowly made her way into the room that Cuddy was staying in. She couldn't believe she was playing along with House's foolish little game. Some of the pranks that he had in mind were cruel and others were just plain retarded. "But that's House for ya." She whispered.

She grabbed the clothes that Cuddy had folded on a chair and tossed them into a bag she had over her shoulder. She pulled a different set of clothes out of a different bag and set them on the chair. She grabbed Cuddy's shoes put them in the bag with her clothes, then put a different pair of shoes on the floor next to the chair.

Cameron made her way into the bathroom. Cuddy had put her toiletries bag on the ledge of the sink. Slowly and quietly Cameron opened it and rifled through. She pulled out the sample size bottle of body gel and emptied the contents into the sink. Then refilled the bottle with a concoction that House had mixed. "I hope this doesn't hurt her." Cameron whispered placing the bottle back in the bag. She pulled an aerosol can out of her bag and laid Cuddy's bath towel on the ground in the bathroom. She sprayed the towel generously with the spray and then dusted the towel with something else from her bag. She folded the towel so that the sprayed side was on the inside.

Next Cameron crept out of the bathroom and moved over next to the bed. She turned the alarm clock off that set on the bedside table and left the room as quietly as she came.

* * *

Meanwhile, House was getting a bit of mischief of his own going. He found the room that Chase and Foreman were sharing. He limped in, only trying to be quietly and not sneaky. Sneaky just wasn't his style.

"First things first." He said to himself. He headed for Chase's side of the room. House had two bags just like Cameron. One was slung over his shoulder and the other he was carrying in his free hand. He set the bag in his hand down and looked over the items on Chase's bedside table. Cologne. House grabbed it and unscrewed the top. He pulled the wooden box out of the bag on the floor and removed the small white container from the inside. He unscrewed the cap and dumped a fair amount into the cologne bottle, then replaced the lids on both bottles. An ear to ear smile was plastered to his face. Next up, hair gel. Same thing. He unscrewed the top and pulled a container out of his bag and added a few squirts into the hair gel. He put the hair gel back on the table and recapped it. House proceeded to tamper with a couple other things on the bedside table then moved his way over to Foreman's bedside table.

House found that he didn't really want to mess with Foreman nearly as much as he wanted to mess with Chase. The reason escaped him. Not that he didn't want to screw with Foreman at all. That was out of the question. He had plans and was going to follow through on every one of them. He just hoped his partner in crime was doing the same.

He grabbed a couple of things from Foreman's table and added a little bit of this and a little bit of that. After House had finished with the toiletries, he noticed that Foreman's cell phone was on and sitting on the chair next to the bed. House made quick work of changing all the speed dials to his own cell phone and changed the language to Japanese.

House then made his way into the bathroom. Just as Cameron had, he put both bath towels on the floor and sprayed them, then sprinkled something on top. Once done, he folded the towels back up and put them back. He packed up his bag and made his way back into the room. He was halfway through the door, "I almost forgot the best part." He whispered. He pulled the wooden box out of his bag, and twisted the lid off of the small bottle. "Christ." He cursed. He proceeded to dump the entire contents on the floor, then tossed the bottle into the trash can. He walked out and down the hall to rendezvous with Cameron in his office.

* * *

A little while later, Foreman woke up. He wasn't quite ready to wake up, but something had forced him to wake up. There were an odd smell in the room, and it was burning his throat as he inhaled it. He looked over to see that Chase was stirring too.

Chase sat up, and looked at Foreman, "What the hell is that?" He said, covering his nose.

* * *

"You know, to this day, I can still smell that shit. What the hell did you put in our room?" Foreman demanded of House, cutting Cameron off in the middle of the story.

"I got two words for you," House paused. Holding up one finger he said, "Liquid." He held up another finger, "Ass." The corners of his mouth were quirked in a maniacal manner.


	8. I Just Want To Sleep

**A/N: I know this one is short, but I was only permitted a half hour break. My girl's got me stringing god damn Christmas lights all over the place. And she wonder why I hate Christmas. I'm hoping to get a longer chapter out tonight yet. I'm sure you guys are wondering what the hell I'm up to with the pranks, and what some of them even were. It will all play out in time. Hope you enjoy the new chapter, and be sure to show that you enjoyed it by writing a review.**

**-Fen**

* * *

House was making his way down the hallway back to his office. He saw Cameron round the corner at the other end of the hall, heading for his office as well. Once the two were into the conference room, House asked, "So, you switched the clothes?"

"Yeah."

"You emptied out body gel too?"

"Yes."

"You sprayed the towel?"

"And I sprinkled the snow confetti on." She replied. "Like I said, you made me read that damn thing so many times, if I didn't remember, I'd be making fun of me." She paused, and looked out into the hall, thinking she heard someone coming. "Besides, it's not like it was that much to remember."

"Good then. Into the bat cave." He said, motioning towards his office.

The two slipped in the door, and then House turned. "We need to push the desk back against the door."

"Why? It's not like anyone has been trying to get in here." She said. It was true, not a single person had come looking for House. Well except Cuddy once.

"Yeah, but in the morning, people will definitely be looking for me." He replied. "They're gonna know exactly who the masked man in the middle of the night was."

"You wore a mask?" Cameron joked. "Why didn't I get a mask?"

House rolled his eyes. "Help me with the desk." When she didn't move to help, he said, "Please."

She was so shocked. She had never heard that word come out of his mouth when he wasn't being an ass. He had never meant it before when he said. She quickly moved to help with the desk. Once it was pushed against the door, House sighed in relief.

Cameron pulled out her cell phone and checked the time. "It's 2:30. I'm tired." She turned off her cell phone and yawned.

House walked over and picked up the clothes that he had worn the night before to sleep in. He also picked up the mesh shorts he had lent Cameron – she was still wearing the ACDC shirt – and tossed them at her.

House changed into the pajama pants and sat down on the couch. Cameron watched him. Was he going to wear a shirt? She didn't know if she'd be able to lay on that couch with him if he was going to bare chested.

"You going to sleep standing up?" House asked from his position on the couch.

"What? Oh, no." She snapped out of her daze and walked over to sit down next to him. The mesh shorts were still in her hands.

"You sleeping in pants too?" He asked, motioning towards the mesh shorts.

"No." She replied, puffing out her chest just a bit. House quirked an eyebrow at her. She pulled the pants off, and put them on the floor, then set the mesh shorts on top. "I'm ready to sleep."

House let out a small chuckle. She was being daring. He liked that. "Fine." He said. He laid down on the couch with his head where Cameron's had been the night before and where his had reluctantly been when he woke up.

She turned and looked at him. "Why….um….Aren't you sleeping down there?" She asked.

"No." He kept it simple. When she didn't make a move to lay down, he wrapped his arm around her waist, and pulled her down next to him. She struggled. "Stop." He said, and she halted all movement. "I just want to sleep." He let go of her waist only to reach down and pull the blanket up. Once the blanket was on them, he put his arm possessively around her waist again. "Night."

"Night." She replied.


	9. The Red Rooster

**A/N: As promised, here is the next chapter. Just so you know, I was able to type this whole chapter without any lights in my place because with all the god damn Christmas lights up here I'll never have to turn another light on. Speaking of lights, Aly, it's really not that nice to laugh at other people's _torture _(as you called it, and I concur). I absolutely hate Christmas and especially having to decorate for it. The only part I really enjoy is seeing people's faces when they open the presents I've evilly wrapped and absolutely love them. Anyway, without further ado, here it is.**

**-Fen**

* * *

Cuddy woke up and looked at the clock on her bedside table. "9 o'clock! What the hell!?" She looked at the alarm setting. "I know I set that last night." She walked over to the chair that she had set her clothes for the day on. Looking down at the pile, "I thought I had my mist blue suit here. Oh well." She grabbed up the clothes and walked into the room's bathroom to take a shower. She pulled out the sample bottle of shower gel and stepped into the stall after setting the water to the appropriate temperature.

After washing up, she stepped out of the shower and grabbed her towel. She neglected to notice the small flurry of sparkles that came from the towel. She quickly dried off her body and started to pull on her outfit for the day. Snug. She fought to get the skirt on and had the tug the top to get the buttons to latch in the front. It wasn't until she looked in the mirror to apply her makeup that she noticed anything out of the ordinary. She stared at her reflection. Her skin was a tinge paler and covered in sparkles. Upon further investigation, she noticed that the sparkles were actual small pieces of fake snow. She tried to wipe them off with the towel but that only caused more to appear. "What the?" Then she looked at the towel.

Marching out of the bathroom, she sat down on the chair and grabbed her shoes. She tried to slide the heels onto her feet but found that they too were just a little too snug. She stood, dropping the shoes on the floor and grinding her teeth. She headed out of the room and right for a very particular door.

* * *

Chase and Foreman had been up for awhile, having been woken up by the stench that now encompassed the room they had been staying in. They had grabbed up their belongings and decided to leave the room and find somewhere else to stay.

After an hour of searching, there were no other rooms available. Either patients were in them, their families or other hospital staff. They decided that they would have to either stay in the room or on the floor in the hallway. They opted for the hallway.

They had woken up from a very uncomfortable sleep about forty-five minutes ago and headed for the locker room to shower.

After washing off their bodies and drying off in the stalls, the two emerged to see each other. Both were doubled over laughing.

Foreman stopped and looked at Chase. Through tear-filled eyes, he asked, "I know why I'm laughing, but why the hell are you laughing?"

Chase stopped laughing enough to respond. "It's not often you see a 'hood' gone drag queen with all those sparkles." He started laughing again as Foreman looked down and saw the sparkles that covered his body. Thinking just as Cuddy had, he tried wiping them off the with towel, but like Cuddy, it only caused more sparkles to appear. "Wait." Chase came to a dead stop in his laughter. "Why were you laughing at me?"

Foreman looked up at his colleague. "Well, let's just say you're not a blondie bear any more." He said, motioning for Chase to look in the mirror.

Chase hurried over to the mirror and shrieked when he saw that his blond locks were now a blinding fire engine red.

The two friends looked at each other and said in unison, "House."

* * *

House was just beginning to stir when he realized that he was alone on the couch. Feeling more naked than he would ever admit, he sat up and looked around the room until his eyes fell upon her. She was at the desk, getting what he assumed was breakfast together for the two of them.

She turned to him, "Oh, you're awake. I got coffee." She held up a mug and took it over to him.

He stared at her. "You managed to make coffee? I thought our electric was rationed?" He said.

"Well, I guess my niceness paid off. I was able to talk one of the cooks into letting me unplug the milk frig for a couple of minutes to brew a small pot of coffee. Enough for two." She said, carrying his mug over and handing it to him. He flashed her a brief smile. She walked back over to the desk, grabbed something, then walked back over to the couch and sat down next to House. "Here." She shoved a hot sausage burrito at him.

"Another favor?" He asked.

"No. I snuck into the kitchen and heated it up on the gas grill when no one was around."

"I'm rubbing off on you." He winked at her, and let a quick kiss brush across her lips. "That's definitely not a good thing."

The pair had just finished their burritos when an incessant pounding started on the hallway door of his office. House looked over at the desk to make sure that Cameron hadn't moved it.

"House, I know you're in there!" Cuddy yelled.

"No I'm not!" He yelled back. "I'm down in the clinic. You should go look there!" He continued.

"House! I am not in the mood! Open the damn door!"

"What's wrong? Feeling a bit constricted?!" He asked. He could hear the sigh escape her mouth. "You might not want to exhale too much. Might blow a button." He couldn't hold back the laugh that came out. How he ever came up with the idea to switch her clothes with ones that were two sizes too small, he still couldn't figure out. It just popped into his demented mind.

"Open the god damn door. NOW!"

House motioned for Cameron to help him with the desk. As much as he didn't want to leave the office for fear of retribution, he couldn't resist seeing what the threesome he knew was outside his office – even if Foreman and Chase hadn't said anything yet – looked like with their House makeovers. "Are you gonna huff and puff?" House called out to her. "If you were, I'd rethink that. You might not get the outcome you were hoping for."

"House, just open the door." Foreman said. He had figured that he at least made out with the least amount of mischief. His would wash off, or so he hoped. Cuddy looked like someone had spread glue all over her body then put the same fake snow that was on Foreman's body onto hers, and then dressed in clothes that obviously belonged to someone much smaller than Cuddy. Chase wasn't bad, but it was probably going to be awhile until that hair color faded out.

The threesome hadn't noticed that House and Cameron were in the conference room until the two emerged into the hallway. Upon seeing the three standing there, Cameron immediately turned her body to avoid them seeing her laughing. She turned right into House who had followed her into the hall. She ran right into his shoulder. Her hands were over her face. With one hand on his cane, House wrapped his other around Cameron. He was trying to comfort her and stop her from laughing, but also didn't want her retreating in the office and blocking him out.

House looked at them and held his own laughter in. "Cuddy, did anyone tell you yet today that you're absolutely sparkling? You know, if I didn't know better, I'd think you might be pregnant. Your clothes are looking a little snug." He bit his lip, his eyes welling up with tears from holding in his laughter.

Cuddy stared at House for a moment. "What the hell is wrong with you? Why would you even think….nevermind. I put up with everything that you deal out on a daily basis. I didn't ask for us all to be penned up in this hospital all weekend. The least you could have done was disappear and not show up until the doors were open and we were all leaving."

"I was just trying to incite a little laughter. Everyone's been so down in the dumps." He said as sympathetically as he could.

"No one's laughing!" Cuddy yelled back.

"Actually I beg to differ." House said, feeling that Cameron was starting to regain her composure. "Dr. Cameron here is having a fit of the giggles." He said wiggling his fingers on her ribs, causing her pull away from him in laughter.

"I'm going to call the electric company to see what the status of us getting power back is. When I get back to my room, MY clothes had better be exactly where I left them last night." She stomped away, her feet making a loud patting noise from the lack of shoes.

"You know, it's not very professional to come to work without shoes on." House called after her. House focused his intentions on Chase and Foreman. "What is that smell?" He asked, knowing exactly what it was. He moved and started to sniff at Foreman and Chase. He ran a finger across Foreman's cheek. "Didn't know you were the kind for sparkles?" He said inspecting his finger before wiping it on Foreman's shirt. He moved to Chase. "Oh yeah. It's you. Where do you buy your cologne? I'd ask for my money back and then some. You're gonna need a spa treatment to get that stench out." He moved away from the two and walked back into the conference room.

Cameron was facing the two of them. Laughter still present on her face as she was trying to hold it in.

"You think this is funny?" Chase asked.

"You do smell." Foreman sniffing at his friend. "What kind of—" Foreman stopped talking realizing what had happened. "Damn, House put whatever he put in our room in your cologne." Chase made a move towards the conference room but Foreman stopped him. "Revenge is sweet." He said to Chase. Cameron let out a soft chuckle. "Oh, you think you're immune? I know you were in on it with him."

"Oh please." She said trying to make it seem like she hadn't helped House in his night of mischief.

"I'm glittering. Chase's new nickname is the Red Rooster, and Cuddy dropped a couple dress sizes over night. You have nothing. So obviously you were in on it." Foreman said.

"Maybe House just likes me and didn't want to do anything to me."

"Yeah, cause he never makes you do menial things like sort his mail, make his coffee or pickup his dry cleaning." Foreman spat back.

The conversation was interrupted by a yell from inside the office. "Cameron, stop playing with the other children. I'm ready for hot, naked, monkey sex!" House yelled from inside the office.

Taking it as a quick out of the conversation, she yelled back, "Coming!"


	10. Broken

**A/N: I'll be getting out one more chapter tonight yet (or so I hope). I'm also working on a sequel to _Stunned_, for those of you interested. The next chapter will help to clear up some of the confusion from this one. Hope you all enjoy. BTW, Aly, it's okay. I know you're sorry, you don't have to actually type it. I accept. Besides, it's kinda nice not having to turn lights on when I come downstairs for my midnight smoke.**

**-Fen**

* * *

"So what happened?" Foreman's wife asked as Cameron finished her story. "Why aren't you still together?"

House and Cameron looked at each other. It was a hard subject for either one to discuss. It had been a mutual decision on their parts. "After the blackout, I forced House into having a conversation about what had happened at PPTH. We decided that it would be best if we didn't pursue a relationship." Cameron was trying to keep her answer as simple as possible. She knew House wouldn't want everyone at the table knowing that he had admitted to loving her. He wouldn't want them knowing that it was his love that had caused her to leave PPTH a couple of weeks after the blackout. She wasn't sure she even wanted them knowing.

"Why though? It doesn't make any sense. You might not look like a match made in heaven, and I know you were his employee, but I'm sure you could have figured something out." She was still confused as to why the two of them would have given up so easily.

Cameron just looked at her, not believing that the woman was pushing the subject. She thought her vagueness was a good hint that she didn't want to discuss it.

* * *

The strike had ended and the electric was soon back on at PPTH. House and Cameron escaped without anyone seeing them. He walked her to her car and then sped off on his own bike.

It was later that a not came to his door and he had to deal with Allison Cameron.

"Why can't you just tell me what's going through your head? I've told you how I feel." She said.

"You'd tell a homeless person on the street how you feel. I'm not like that, Cameron, and you of all people should know that."

"I'm not asking you to tell some stranger what you're feeling. I'm asking you to tell _me_ how you feel!" She was getting angry. Why couldn't he just tell her? His silence only infuriated her more. "We shared a bed! I think-"

House cut her off. "Actually it was a couch." He corrected.

She rolled her eyes in anger. "The least you owe me is to tell me where we stand." Again, his silence was deafening to her. She only wanted him to say what he was feeling. Even if it hurt her own feelings, she just wanted to know. "Fine." She picked up her purse that she had set on the couch in his apartment and headed for the door.

She was outside the apartment, and just about to close the door when she heard a whisper come from within. "Wait." She was surprised that she had even heard it.

House was hobbling to the door. He pulled it open effectively pulling her in because her had was still attached to the knob and she wasn't expecting the door to be moving. "I'm not good with words, and I never will be. What I know is that this will never work with you working for me. Somewhere deep inside, you know it too. No matter what feelings I may or may not have, it just doesn't matter. This won't work." He said.

Cameron held her ground. "I don't care about that. I want to know your _feelings_. I want to know what you're feeling right now."

"Broken." She looked into his eyes. She could see his feelings even if he'd never say them.

* * *

"It was a couple of weeks later that Cameron decided to leave the hospital." House had taken over telling the story. He had everyone's attention, since Chase, Foreman and Wilson had never heard this part.

"That's it? She just left?" Foreman's wife asked.

"You don't give up do you." House snapped back at her. "That's it. It ended. No hard feelings."


	11. Happy Now?

**A/N: Okay, so this was supposed to be the final chapter, but I'm getting a bit of a block right now and can't quite figure out how to get the words from my brain into words on the screen. Hopefully this doesn't completely confuse you guys. I know I took the story for a curve ball with the last chapter, and I'm adding some more curves in this one. So to quickly explain myself…I'm sick of reading fics where Cameron is the one being hurt by House. So I decided to flip the switch on this one. Hope you enjoy this chapter, and as always, please review to let me know what you think.**

**-Fen**

* * *

"I love you! Are you happy now?! I've admitted it! Does it change anything?! Even if I begged you to stay, you wouldn't!" He yelled at her. It was a couple of weeks after the blackout, and Cameron had come over to his apartment to deliver her letter of resignation. He was shocked and angry all at the same time. 

It was the letter that started the argument. Or more precisely House's reaction to the letter. He was livid. He couldn't believe it. He knew at some point they'd all eventually leave, but he never thought she'd be the first. He questioned her means. She said, it was time to move on. He called bullshit on that. She said she couldn't gain anything else from the fellowship under him. She had already learned everything he had to offer. Again, he called bullshit. He knew why she was leaving. He had pushed her away. He always did when someone got too close. Ever since Stacy he had put up so many walls that he didn't even know how to knock some of them down.

He wanted her to tell him why she was leaving. He wanted to hear the words come from her mouth. He pushed her enough until they finally did. They just weren't the words that he had expected. He expected her to say that she couldn't deal with him. He was too much. She never knew what he was thinking and he would never tell her. He expected her to say she loved him even. But that wasn't what she said. Not even close. "You told me that you felt broken. It's not exactly sweeping words of romance that knock a girl off her feet. So either you really meant it, or it was the first thing that popped into your head to get me out of your apartment. Either way, we shouldn't be together. That's why I'm leaving." That what she had said.

It's what she said that made him tell her that he loved her. He knew it wouldn't change anything. But he needed to get it out before she left.

"You're right. It won't change anything. We can't be together." She replied to his confession.

"Fine. You know where the door is." He turned and walked into his bedroom, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

It wasn't until a couple of months later when they had gotten together to have dinner as friends that they had decided to let everyone know that they weren't seeing each other. 

Up until that point everyone had assumed that Cameron had left so that she and House could be together. House had let it slip that they had slept together during the blackout. He hadn't really meant to let it slip. He had just been talking with Cameron in the conference room about it when Chase walked in and caught enough of the conversation to figure it out. House told Cameron that it was up to her to inform Foreman and Chase. He felt no need to tell them any details.

And so it was that House and Cameron had mutually agreed to end their relationship.

* * *

House sat at the table glaring daggers at Foreman's wife. "Happy now? You got the whole story." Cameron placed her hand on his knee and gave a small squeeze. House turned his attention to her for a moment then looked back at Foreman's wife. How dare she come here, her first of their simple dinners, and start asking questions like this. 

It had been a long time since anyone had asked about the relationship between House and Cameron, and House wasn't sure he liked the outcome. He was fine telling the story of the blackout, and telling everyone that they had agreed to not be a couple, but she had to push. She had to find out exactly why they weren't still together. That's what pissed him off the most. She didn't even know him, but wanted to know why he had stopped loving Cameron. Truth was, he never stopped loving her. He just didn't have to see her all the time, so it wasn't like a knife in his heart everyday.

He put his hand on top of Cameron's, which was still on his knee. Trying to make the dark mood leave the table, Cameron asked, "So, where to? Wilson's or House's?" They always ended up back at one of their places.

"Wilson's." House said immediately. Everyone looked at him. "What? My place is always a mess." He said. Besides, he was devising a new plan in his head and in order for that plan to work, he needed everyone to go to Wilson's.

"Fine. But next time, make sure your place is clean before you come out to dinner." Wilson said.

"Oh yeah, like that'll happen." He stood from the table, still holding Cameron's hand. He turned to her as everyone grabbed their coats and purses. "Take a ride with me." He whispered.

"What are you up to?" She asked.

He looked down at the front of his pants, then returned his gaze to her face. "Nothing."


	12. Smartest Idea

**A/N: Okay, here it is. The final Chapter. Sorry it took me a couple of days, but I just had to get the idea for _A Devil & A Flower_ out of my head and onto the screen. Which, by the way, thanks for all the great feedback, I'm happy you guys enjoyed it.**

**One more thing…I would like to thank everyone (since I wasn't able to reply to all the reviews I got on this fic) for all the feedback, and getting me to over 100 reviews. Thank you all so much. Reviews feed me and make me write more. : )**

**-Fen**

* * *

While everyone else poured into their cars to make their way to Wilson's place, House and Cameron made their way over to his bike. He took the helmet off the seat and put it on her head, pushing the visor down. "Now, hop on." He said, after positioning himself on the bike and starting it. Cameron climbed on behind and put her hands on his hips. "Hold on." He said as he pulled out of the parking spot.

At first he had just been driving to drive. He wanted to feel Cameron against him. He didn't know why he had insisted that she take a ride with him. It's not like they became fuck buddies when she came back into town. For all he knew, she had a boyfriend. He never asked that question when she did come back around for these little dinners. He didn't ask because it was the one question he didn't want to know the answer to. He'd always assumed that she was seeing someone and just didn't bring him (or her as his mind occasionally went into fantasy land) because she didn't what to hurt House.

They were driving for about half an hour when Cameron leaned forward and asked, "Are you going to your place or are we just gonna drive around for a couple hours?"

House quickly made a right turn and sped off in the direction of his apartment.

* * *

She was sitting on his couch in his living room. He was getting a fresh bottle of scotch for the two of them to share. He always made sure that he had a couple bottles when these simple dinners happened. He and Cameron always ended up drinking at least a bottle while staying up and catching up with each other.

He handed her a rock glass with ice and poured a generous amount of the golden liquid into her glass, then filled his own (minus the ice).

"So, how's the hospital? How are your new ducklings?" Cameron always asked this question. She wanted to know who had replaced her and the guys and if they were up to par.

"Fine. They're dumber than rocks, but I'm whipping them into shape." He said. She laughed. "I'm serious. I have the whip if you'd like to see it. It's in the bedroom." He said, quirking an eyebrow up.

"Maybe later." She replied, allowing the room to go silent for a few moments.

"So, you seeing anyone?" He asked. He never asked that question, but now that it was out of his mouth, it was too late.

"No." She simply replied. Adding in her head, "Like I could ever love anyone the way I love you."

House just nodded his head. This was always the awkward part. Coming up with conversation before they'd had half a bottle of the scotch gone was what he dreaded.

* * *

"And then Chase came running in. His hair was bright red – like when you put the dye in his hair gel. He looked at Eric and started yelling and cursing at him. Eric and I just laughed." Cameron paused to catch her breath from the giggle fit she was having. "Eric and I called him the Red Rooster for the rest of the night. He called me about two weeks later and said it still wasn't gone. I don't know what Eric put in his shampoo or if it was the shampoo that caused it to be so bad." Again, she paused to catch her breath. "Eric told me that he addressed his Christmas card to Chase _Red Rooster_, which caused Chase to not talk to him for three months." She finished telling House about another hair dye incident involving Chase's blonde locks.

House was laughing as he poured another full glass of scotch, realizing that they had polished off a whole bottle already. He got up to get the second bottle that was in the kitchen, but his cane slipped from his grip and he lost his balance momentarily. It was just long enough for him to fall back onto the couch. And right onto Cameron. He was able to catch himself quickly enough that he didn't crush her. His hands landed on the couch behind her head, with one hand on either side. He stayed there, just staring at her. The action had been so quick that Cameron wasn't able to respond immediately – especially since she had three glasses of scotch plus what she had drank at the restaurant.

Before she even had chance to look up at him, he had descended, capturing his mouth her own. Quickly, he spun himself so that he was on the couch, and pushing her down onto her back, not letting go of her mouth. Her hands naturally went to his waist. He positioned his legs between hers, and pushed himself against her, letting some of his weight fall on her.

She responded by deepening the kiss, and pulling his waist tighter against her body. House put all his weight on his right hand, and used his left the pull at the hem of the dark blue button down shirt she had on. His hand slipped under the shirt, and he was surprised to find that she had another shirt on underneath the dark blue one. He slid his hand under the second shirt, and let it rest on her taut stomach for a few moments.

When he felt the goose bumps forming on her stomach, he smiled through the kiss, and let his hand travel further up her body. He caressed a breast through the lace of her bra. His hand didn't linger in any one area. He wanted to feel every part of her. He smiled again as he felt the material of the rest of the bra. "Didn't know you were a leather and lace kinda girl." He mumbled against her lips as he pulled his away if only for a moment. He sat his body up, and missed the feel of her body against his immediately. He took her hand and pulled her up to a standing position.

Without a word, she squeezed his hand, and started for the bedroom. House slowly followed her.

* * *

Once in his bedroom, his hands went to work unbuttoning her shirt. His lips had reclaimed hers, and she was working on the belt and zipper of his jeans. He pushed the dark blue shirt off her shoulders, and glanced down at the shirt that she had on underneath. He pulled back from her. She thought for a moment that he was going to stop all together. "You know, I've been looking for that shirt for a couple years now." He said, smiling at the ACDC shirt she had on. He pulled the hem of the shirt up and over her head. Then tossed the shirt into _his_ dirty laundry. She watched him, and gave a pout. "I'm just reclaiming what is rightly _mine._" He replied to her pout as he pulled her head to his, causing the statement to have a double meaning.

House pulled at the zipper of her pants, and snaked a hand between the material and her skin. He let two fingers venture between her folds and could feel how wet she was already. He ran one finger along her, applying the slightest amount of pressure as it grabbed her clit. A small moan escaped her lips. She had finally finished with his pants, and let them drop to the ground, pooling around his feet. House followed suit and finished undoing her pants.

He spun them, breaking away from her lips to pull his shirt over his head. His hands went behind her back and with one flick the bra was added to the pile of clothes adorning the floor. He walked her back to the bed, and forced her to sit down. He lifted her body slightly and pushed her up the bed until her head was resting on the pillows.

Grabbing her left foot and raising it into the air, he trailed one finger down the inside of her leg. She squirmed under his touch. Putting his knees on the edge of the bed, he leaned down and followed his finger trail with his tongue, ending at her core. He flicked his tongue a couple of times until he got the wanted response. She arched her hips and moaned out his name.

With a smile on his face, he gradually worked his way up her body, leaving kisses and nibbles on his way. Finally he found her neck. He sucked and nibbled at the crook of her neck as he pushed himself inside her. Another moan, and another smile.

He started a slow rhythm, moving in and out of her.

Cameron wrapped her arms around to his back, and ran her nails up and down in time with him thrusts. She could feel herself tightening. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him in deeper.

Realizing that she was tightening around him, he quickened his pace, and it wasn't long until the two of them were over the edge in ecstasy.

* * *

It was a little while later. The two were back out on the couch. Cameron was curled up under a blanket and pushed into House's side as House lounged with his feet up on the coffee table. They decided to watch a little TV. Cameron thought they might catch a late night comedy or a late night talk show. That was shot down was House ventured onto the Sci-Fi Channel, which was having a Horrorfest weekend.

The latest movie had just finished, and Cameron was snuggled into House's side. She would duck her head into his chest every time it got scary, and would wait for him to tell her it was okay. Which never happened, and she usually turned her head to see if the coast was clear just as the goriest part was happening and House would say, "I didn't tell you to look yet."

Cameron watched as the credits rolled by and House was looking at the preview for the next movie. She looked up at him, and waited for him to look back. He did. "Maybe we should rethink this whole mutual agreement to not have a relationship."

House smiled his ear to ear smile, and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. "I think that's the smartest thing that has ever come out of your mouth."


End file.
